Panthers have work cut out for them in a tough West

If the Pitt Panthers can ever overcome the Sweet-16 hurdle, this year looks as promising as… If the Pitt Panthers can ever overcome the Sweet-16 hurdle, this year looks as promising as any.

This year’s team may be the best Pitt has fielded since Brandin Knight’s senior campaign (2002-03). That said, Pitt was embarrassed against Georgetown in the Big East championship and struggled against ranked opponents all season long.

In order to finally overcome their Sweet-16 snag, the Panthers will first need to avoid a first-round upset at the hands of Horizon League champ Wright State.

The Raiders are led by senior guard Dashaun Wood. Wood is averaging a conference-leading 19.8 points and team-best 3.9 assists per contest. He scored a game-high 27 points in the Raiders’ upset victory over 17th-ranked Butler in the Horizon League championship game.

Assuming that Pitt takes care of business in the first round, it will draw a difficult second-round matchup against either Duke or Virginia Commonwealth.

Obviously, the sixth-seeded Blue Devils are a perennial power that should not be overlooked. Sophomores Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus are the leading members of one of the more heralded recruiting classes of 2005 and have the talent to beat nearly any team in the nation. While many believed they have underachieved thus far in their careers, the tournament would be a perfect platform to prove their greatness.

The Rams, on the other hand, present a balanced attack that overcame much touted Drexel and last year’s Cinderella sweetheart, George Mason, en route to their Colonial Athletic Association championship. Seniors B.A. Walker and Jesse Pellot-Rosa, the team’s leading and third-leading scorers respectively, logged significant minutes for VCU when it last made a tournament appearance in 2004. They will be excited to represent the CAA much like George Mason during its Final Four run last season.

Should it survive round two, the selection committee once again placed Pitt in the same bracket as its former coach Ben Howland. In what would be a television analyst’s dream, UCLA is the Panthers’ most likely Sweet 16 opponent.

Howland’s Bruins are fresh off a national championship game appearance last season and will be eager to get back once again. They are the best team to come out of arguably the nation’s best conference (Pacific-10), so they have already been thoroughly tested throughout a rigorous conference schedule. Pac-10 Player of the Year Arron Afflalo is averaging 16.7 points per game, and had his streak of 29 straight games scoring in double figures snapped in the loss to California during the conference tournament.

Should UCLA lose before the round of 16, it would likely come at the hands of Indiana. The Hoosiers finished third among the six schools that were selected to dance from the Big Ten. Wins against Southern Illinois, Michigan State and second-ranked Wisconsin prove that this is a dangerous team that should not be taken lightly.

Should the Panthers finally get past the Sweet 16, they would likely face top-seeded Kansas. Kansas is a favorite among many to win the entire tournament. Although they are very young, the Jayhawks boast some impressive numbers. Four players are averaging double-digits in scoring led by sophomore Brandon Rush with 13.8 points per contest. The Jayhawks are eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage and fourth in field-goal percentage allowed.

Fans should keep in mind, however, that Kansas has been upset in the first round each of the past two seasons. Should they make it three straight, the Panthers could face any one of multiple scenarios.

As the four seed, Southern Illinois would logically be next in line as the Panthers’ Elite Eight competition. Senior guard Jamaal Tatum leads the 15th-ranked Salukis into the tournament. With multiple scoring options and a strong defense, their most glaring flaw is that they were rarely tested by marquee schools during the regular season.

Perhaps the surprise team of the Atlantic Coast Conference, fifth-seeded Virginia Tech is another possible Elite Eight contender. The Hokies also have four players in double-digit scoring, led by senior guard Zabian Dowdell (18.3 points per game). Tech has shown a knack for knocking off top teams (two wins against North Carolina), but has also lost to Marshall and Western Michigan over the course of the season.

While it may be a stretch, either winner of the eight-seed-versus-nine-seed game, Kentucky or Villanova, could also make a late March run. Both teams are loaded with talent, are well-coached and have plenty of tournament experience.